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Reviews For: Kenwood Repair Service

Category: Amateur Radio Equipment Repair

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Review Summary For : Kenwood Repair Service
Reviews: 45MSRP:
Description:
Kenwood factory repairs
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.kenwood.net/contact.cfm
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00452.7
N6CVK Rating: 2005-10-20
Service Center West Deserves Negative Numbers on the Scale Time Owned: more than 12 months.
My TS-940S was sent to Cerritos, CA in Dec.2004 with the infamous Kenwood PLL unlock problem and to fix the voice synthesizer that hadn’t worked since the radio came back from a previous repair. When I received the radio in March 2005, the frequency couldn’t be set or changed with the VFO tuning knob, so I sent the radio back to Kenwood. It was in the repair facility until late Sept. 2005. During that time, my calls often weren’t returned or I was told someone would get back to me, but no one would. I was given contradictory information about the status of my radio (e.g., once I was told the radio was in the final stage of testing before being shipped, later I was told the part had been received but wasn’t installed, another time I was told the radio was going to be shipped that week, only to be subsequently informed that a replacement part was no longer available, but that they’d give me one from their “junk” stock. When I finally received the radio it was in much worse shape than when I sent it in: when I hooked it back up it was essentially non-functional. Also, the frequency still couldn’t be set with the VFO knob, the voice synthesizer worked intermittently, and it still had a PLL problem.
W6IML Rating: 2005-09-30
HORROR STORY! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Kenwood repair in So. Cal SUCKS.
I sent my Kenwood TS-940S to the Cypress California repair facility last January, 05 for a PLL problem that plagues the 940s, and finally got it back in August of 05. Did they fix the problem? NO. In fact, it was worse than when I gave it to them in January! I Gave up on them fixing my rig and told them to just send it back to me and I would find another place to have the rig fixed. The 940s came back to me with a $94.00 charge, and now the rig has a bad digital "A" module as well as the PLL problem! I found a digital "A" module on ebay and put it in the rig, now the 940s is right back to the condition it was in when I sent it to Kenwood for the bloody repair!
I have since found several places to get the rig fixed, so as soon as I pick one of them, off it goes.
I hope Kenwood repair gets their act together, and soon because the Ham radio division of Kenwood is slowly going away.
AC4CX Rating: 2005-09-27
Upgrade Firmware Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I sent off my Kenwood 7a to have the firmware upgraded to 7ag and its going on nearly 3 months now and its still in shop to be upgraded. I called several times to only hear it is going out Monday, when it never showed up, I called again and they told me in was never worked on and they will get on it today. I waited another week and they said it would go out Monday still no shipment, I called and only got a answer machine ,still waiting,No radio yet AC4CX
W6LBV Rating: 2005-06-09
A poor start but a good ending Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
My venerable TS-850SAT made its first journey through the Kenwood (West) factory-authorized repair station and has now returned fully repaired and ready for service. But it was not as simple or straightforward as I would have expected.

Nine years ago I bought the 850 new and used it problem-free until early this year, when without notice it began blowing main (12 v.d.c.) power fuses. Since it was in some need of PM care anyway, and since I am not trained or equipped to do board-level surface mount technology (SMT) electronics repairs at my home shack, I drove it one hundred miles to the Kenwood facility in southern Los Angeles County.

Upon checking it in I was told by the admitting nurse to expect a telephone call in about five working days with a diagnosis and repair estimate. After two full weeks without any information (and without access to the HF ham bands) I called Kenwood, and was told by a very brusque woman that it would take at least a month before an estimate would be ready.

One full month later no telephone call was forthcoming, and on a trip to Los Angeles for other purposes I stopped by the Kenwood facility with the intention of taking the 850 home....unrepaired. (In the interim I had purchased a new TS-480SAT and was back on the air.) When I asked for return of the 850, Carlo, the Amateur group service manager, appeared.

Carlo patiently explained their problem: the Amateur section (they also do repairs on the entire Kenwood product line, not just Amateur gear, plus repairs for four or five other manufacturers) was backlogged because of an unfilled technician position; they were trying to hire a replacement technician, and Carlo was very apologetic for the delay in service. He promised that, if I left the radio in his shop, he would have an estimate in about a week and would see that repairs were completed promptly. I left without the radio.

About two weeks later Carlo called with an estimate; it was slightly higher than I expected but I wanted to keep the radio in service and I authorized the work. After that day, Carlo phoned on a fairly regular basis to keep me updated, with one of the calls indicating that some repair parts would have to be obtained from Japan, causing an additional delay.

Finally, two months after it began, the work was finished and I again drove the one hundred miles to pick up the radio. Upon arrival I received: the radio itself, clean and in full operational condition including the additional PM work I had requested and an alignment, the original electronic parts which had been replaced, and an itemized bill for the work. Carlo also efficiently handled a separate minor warranty matter for the new TS-480 radio.

I checked out the TS-850 when I returned to my shack. On air, it performed like a new radio. Examining the inside of the radio, I saw that all the board-level work had been done as requested, and done well. I have no complaints about the quality of the work.

Kenwood West Amateur radio repair station can be slow (no commercial radio fleet owner would ever tolerate having a radio sit for a month before repair work began). They are certainly somewhat more expensive than independent shops. But, as Carlo pointed out, they have the technician skill, service manuals, factory parts, and specialized bench tools all in one location to get the job done properly. For board-level repairs of electronically-complex Kenwood SMT radios, I would use them again.
AD7BK Rating: 2004-09-10
Return of the TH-6F Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
The unit came back working till i went to charge the battery i left it on the charger for a hour the charge light went out so i took it off and it would NOT come back on AGAIN Go Yaesu or Icom at least they fix thier stuff, There I am going to try to get a new unit. I hate when I SPEND 18.00 to get it back just to have it NOT WORK again. I don't know what happend I did nothing other than plug it in for charging, DONT BUY KENWOOD UNLESS YOU WANT HEADACHES! I hate when things like this happens.

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Earlier 5-star review posted by AD7BK on 2004-08-23

I own a Kenwood TH-F6A and I sent it in for reapir a few months ago, and it came back fast reparied. I asked them if they can clone my radio settings so I didn't have to re-program it they didn't do that I called them they said that they couldn't do that to send it back factory specs. They did reapir the issue with the dtmf. I just sent it back in on the 18th of August 2004 for yet another repair this time it is caused by the batery charger it should show up Friday or Monday and they even performed the MARS mod for me so I can have the remainder of my warrenty. They have to take it completly apart anyways to repair the power connector. So they can do the mod quick. So I say they are great.
NE0P Rating: 2004-06-05
Customer service is terrible! Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
Don't know about their repair service, but their customer service-at least for tech support-is terrible. Only other company this bad is cushcraft.

First off, you cannot speak with a live person as you can with Icom or Yaesu. You have to leave a message, and hope they call you back. Or you can email them, and they do seem to be pretty quick on responding to emails.

Second, they seem pretty clueless. I had a question about using a TS480 for crossband repeat. The manual says that you have to interface it with a TM-D700A, which is a $450 rig. Well that is out of my budget, so I got to looking around and found that the TM-G707 has the exact same wiring for the interface plug as the D700A, so it should also work. Asked them about this, and they repeated what the manual said. So I sent another email asking for some clarification as to why the G707 won't work when it has the same interface, etc. All they kept repeating was "It has to be a D700A" without being able to elaborate on why.

Glad I have Yaesu and Icom in the shack. Much better to deal with.
K8DXX Rating: 2003-05-09
GREAT! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Several years back, I sent my 16+ year old TS-180S into Kenwood Service East. Prior to doing so, I discussed my concerns with the owner, Steve. He gave me whatever time was required to discuss the pros and cons shipping it in for a general look-see versus living with it 'as is.' After about a week, I received a call from Steve saying that aside from a few dirty contacts, they found nothing amiss. He also took it home to use it on the air and compare it with his more modern equipment. His assessment of the unit was insightful and positive. I received the radio back, well packed in about 10 days, total. Steve picked up the shipping and charged me nothing. Now, that's what I call outstanding service in the spirit of ham radio. What a great place to deal with!
R0TER Rating: 2003-05-09
THEY JUST SWAP BOARDS Time Owned: more than 12 months.
KENWOOD TS-50S BLOWS OUT. I PAID $800 FOR THE RADIO NEW, WHEN IT FIRST CAME OUT.
KENWOOD TOOK 3 MONTHS, TO PUT IN 3 NEW PC BOARDS
COST OF REPAIR $340. WHAT A RIP-OFF!!

I NOW USE AAVID!
K6SDW Rating: 2003-03-24
Good factory service Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Over the years I've had a Kenwood in for service, once under warranty and same rig years later out of warranty and great repairs at decent prices! Turn around less than a week.

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Earlier 5-star review posted by K6SDW on 2002-07-12

Twice my TS690SAT had to go to Kenwood in LA -- first time under warranty and returned in less than a week repaired. Second time many years later a problem on the lower IF board, fixed with description of problem and returned in less than a week -- with shipping costs bill was less than $100.
W4KWD Rating: 2002-08-28
Outstanding! Time Owned: N.A.
I recently sent my tm-v7a's display for repair.
I used the Virginia Beach repair center. They received the display on friday , I received
the repaired display the following tuesday!
This was a free repair, out of warranty,
what a super job!